IPC criticizes US Paralympic coverage

London, England — At a press conference in London yesterday the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Sir Philip Craven, criticized media coverage of the Paralympic Games in the United States and Canada.

In the United States, NBC is running only four one-hour highlights packages. Canada's CBC is doing only slightly better, with one hour of highlights each night of competition. This contrasts with extensive coverage in the United Kingdom, France, and other countries.

Sir Philip told the fifty-plus attendees which included Lord Coe, "some people feel that North America lead on everything, and on this they don't. And it's about time they caught up." He said he was very disappointed for the athletes, the people, and the organizations. The Paralympic Committee has tried to fill the void with streaming video over the internet.

According to Tony Naar from the Australian Paralympic Committee, his American counterparts were "defensive" about the arrangement whereby they bought the television rights and sold them on to NBC. Referring to previous Australian coverage he said, "[t]hat is where we were back in 1996, so they are that far behind."